Blog One.

Welcome to… my obligatory first blog where I present myself, overly optimistic and almost desperate to share my wisdom!

Why a blog?
Well, I don’t like hearing my own voice, so that meant a podcast was out. I already have an instagram, and it’s kind of hard to share anything more than a photo and a sentence on there. A blog allows me to edit my thoughts better and I wanted ONE place on the Internet where I could send people when they ask about my personal design experience. Social media is fun, but I don’t want to rely on it, and honestly it doesn’t really set you apart from millions of other people.

Whatcha gunna write about?
Honestly I get a lot of questions from friends and family who have a need for design help. Whether they’re starting a new business and need a logo or just a bridesmaid with a quick custom project, it’s so hard to know where to start and what your investment should be… so I’m here to help!

Are you still designing for ZAGG Studios?
Yes! All of my commissioned graphic design work gets billed and tracked under it. FFTL is just the branding for my personal portfolio and blog (the “fun stuff” that no one pays me to do). Thoughts are my own and represent neither company I work under (I also have a corporate design job). I could have just branded it under my name… but everyone does that, and I figured it could help out my Etsy account, which was already branded.

The dirty truth…
Our goal is to be honest, right? Well what if I told you my goal behind the blog was about 70% wanting to share my knowledge and 30% just being jealous of the perceived “blogger lifestyle” I see on Instagram? I understand that what you see on the internet isn’t always true, but I already have the “remote lifestyle” nailed down. And I just made my very own WordPress site for goodness sake! Now I’ll just be here waiting for my free groceries and sponsored coffee (can you tell I love food blogging).

And here’s a little secret… I thought about being a food blogger since I already have the photography end down and the idea of receiving free groceries?! Oh. Em. Gee. Am I right? But the displeasure of cooking and cleaning well outweighed the benefits of pretending I enjoyed it. But who knows- maybe you’ll see a smoothie or coffee recipe on here from time to time.

What else ya got?
I’m really hoping this blog will segue into something else. I’ve already made a few attempts to get local designers together and it didn’t work. Of the designers I’ve talked to, everyone wishes there was more networking/congregating opportunities. In the “successful” pre-existing communities that I do see (reddit), there’s a lot talking down to each other, in what seems to be a threatening manner. We need a “safe place” to go, when we need emotional or technical support, where we encourage each other, and can even mentor others to help them avoid our same mistakes. And for goodness sakes, stop talking down to new designers for their lack of experience! My goal is to someday, create a safe space- maybe it’s a physical conference, maybe it’s a new chat platform, or maybe it’s just a coffee shop where we can go and just feel “good”.

Designers need more community, but don’t we all?